The TV Slut Report - Belated...on Lost, House, Good Wife, Vampire Diaries, Glee, Supernatural

[Sigh, chock-ful of typos, sorry, no time to edit. Must go to bed!]

Rather difficult day which has made me slightly, oh ever so slightly cranky. I find my patience for fools to be at its limit. Sigh. Now if I only I didn't have to deal with them on a daily basis, life would be lovely. (I'm being snarky, I don't really mean that. Okay, well not entirely).

On the plus side - got quite a bit done. And got rid of two cartons of comic books, plus about 20 other books that I'd had in boxes beneath my bed. Now I just have to get rid of three more cartons of comics, and 50 other books and we're set. Easier said than done. I tend to compile books compulsively - it comes from an inability to rent check out library books, because I hate being told I have to read anything in a specific amount of time. Possibly a side effect of being an English Lit major in a school where I had to read and write papers on lengthy books within the space of two days. And by lengthy - I mean in some cases over 1000 pages. It was an odd school. We had a semesters worth of one class a month. In other words - you'd have five weeks of say Contemporary English Lit in Sept. Then five weeks of Behavioral Psychology in October. Quite intensive. Killer for Science Majors. Anyhow as a result of this - I really like to take my time with fictional novels. Being ordered by anyone to read a book in less than a month or two, annoys me. That and the fact that I happen to be allergic to the mold that grows inside most library books.

Moving on to TV - a much safer topic than the ones I've blathered about recently. Particularly if you don't watch any of the shows I'm discussing. You probably are, because I don't see any point in talking about shows that someone on my flist hasn't commented on and is not watching.

1. House - last week's, not this week's - haven't gotten around to this week's yet, I don't watch tv live anymore. I hate commercials and feel a compulsion to fast-forward during them. Last week's House was co-written by tightropegirl otherwise known as Doris Egan (who is an executive producer this year). The episode was amongst the best of the season, and far better written than just about anything else I've seen lately. And yes, that includes Lost. It was character driven and every element furthered the story. It took place, almost entirely inside House's therapist's office - and was told in flashback, often with House and his therapist standing together in a scene and commenting on it. The language had a rhythm to it, the lines actually bounced and then stayed in my head long afterwards. And it did not hurt that it was in some respects a two-man play, acted by two of the best in the biz - Andre Braugher and Hugh Laurie. There is a reason why House is hands down the best procedural on television, it cares more about the characters than the procedures. And it explores every inch of the character. If you missed this episode, try to catch it on repeat - it's not to be missed.
Flawless in all respects.

It was about relationships. House's difficulty with them, specifically with romantic relationships. His desire to be happy. He tells his therapist that he's done everything that was asked of him. Went off viacodine, got his life together, tried to be nice, and he is miserable. Everyone else is moving on, having a happy relationship but him. What is the frigging point! While this is on the surface a simple enough problem, universal in fact, the writer delves into the minituia of it, explores the angles, and in a new way, making it surprising and unpredictable.

2. Vampire Diaries - laugh all you want, this has turned out to be a fun and satisfying series. Sure the pilot and first two or three episodes were well, silly and cheesy beyond all measure, but then it picked it up speed and did something True Blood failed to do, make me care and surprise me. It may not have the acting chomps of True Blood, but it is in some weird way more enjoyable. Maybe because it doesn't take itself nearly as seriously? It's just campy fun.
(Granted I only saw season 1 of True Blood, it is more than possible I'll change my mind about the show during S2. Season 1 - I felt was a bit derivative. Season 2 - does promise the untold riches of Michelle Forbes letting loose. And S2 has more of Pam and Eric, which were the best things about the books. The best things about S1 were Sam, Tara, and Tara's Cousin. Everyone else I was rather bored by, and a little of Jason can go a long long way.) Anyhow, back to Vampire Diaries - this is co-executive produced and co-written by Kevin Williamson who is actually a rather good writer. ( Vampire Diaries - vague spoilers )

3. Supernatural finale. Yes, the writers have definitely been channeling Neil Gaiman, and possibly Terry Prachett this year, with a little of old Jonah Hex, Preacher, and just about every other horror noir comic book I've ever read thrown in. Methinks I've read too much of this particular genre and am close to burning out. Since I found the ending rather predictable in places. Yes - God is the writer, writing the story, what is new? I sort of like the fact that Whedon played with the idea but only implied it, never went there. Going there is...well
ripe with difficulty, you can, if you aren't careful, reduce your series to a campy remake of a Twilight Zone episode. Also, Supernatural is regrettably the most sexist tv series one the air, which may be an accomplishment - since it certainly has plenty of competition for the honor.
You can ignore this, if you squint, and focus on the two brothers - who the story is about.
IT's their relationship that has always lay at the heart of the series, and it is a love story about two brothers (platonic, please, although there are fans who ahem, see otherwise.). Do I enjoy it? Sure. But like Vampire Diaries - it's not something I can see myself becoming fannish over or posting on. What I like about it - is the mythology and the brother relationship.
Both of which I strongly identify - having a brother myself, one sibling, and being a student of urban folk legends. It's the main reason I watch. Actually the sole reason. That and I like the actors and characters they play. The writing is pretty good too.
( Supernatural Spoilers up to and including the Finale )

5. Lost - last week's Lost was...okay. I'm ambivalent to be honest. And not really all that surprised. My first reaction - was laughter - and this so does not work plot-wise. It doesn't. You can tell that the writers sort of pushed the story into a crack in the plot and hammered away at it to make it work. David Fury - left after the first season because he couldn't deal with the fact that the writers had no clue where they were going with the series and didn't have a plan in place. Considering this is David Fury, we are talking about, the same guy who wrote for Angel and Buffy, as well as 24 - TV shows that aren't exactly known for their tight plots...then there may be a problem with Lost. IF Fury got upset with how they were writing it, clearly something was off.

And he's not wrong. Plot wise? Lost does not work. Well not without quite a bit of glue, and fanwank. But I give the writers credit for trying to make sense of the tangle they've created, which is what this episode was in part about - an attempt to make sense of that tangle, but wisely not saying too much, because there really isn't any way to do so without making it sound incredibly lame. If you don't know the answer? Pretend you do and don't say anything.
In other words, bluff. Which is what they are doing.
( Read more... )

6. The Good Wife - if you haven't seen this show, you should. Best legal show on. And amongst the few feminist tv shows on the air. Alicia Florek, Diane, and Kalinda are strong tough women in their own right. Complex. The series depicts the difficulties of being a strong woman in a man's profession and man's world - the obstacles in your path. It's also a complicated political drama with a deft view of both office politics and the politics in the legal system or at work behind the scenes of local government and the courts. The writing, acting, and pacing are gripping. It is amongst the few tv shows that I find myself engrossed in and not wandering off during.

And it is building. Complete one arc each week, while building on the next. Perfect combo of episodic legal procedural and serial political thriller, with personal relationships in the mix.

My favorite character may well be Kalinda. A female private detective, who is from American born, with India heritage, but does not speak Hindi - a great touch. She defies stereotypes.
She may well be bisexual, we aren't told. And she is definitely next to Mary Shannon of In Plain Sight, the toughest gal on TV. I adore her to pieces. Also quite found of Christine Baranski's complicated and at times nasty, Diane, as well as Julianne Marguiles, steely Alicia Florek - a true heroine, watching her cry as she attempted to pay all her bills, while a potential lay-off hung over her head...was moving.

7. Glee - getting better and better each week. This season has managed to rise above last. The subsidiary characters are actually being developed. We've moved away from Will's love-life to a degree, thank god. And are focusing on the stronger - female characters. This is a series that has better female characters than male in some respects. Tough and dynamic. I can't quite decide who is my favorite at the moment - Mercedes who demands respect for herself and those around her, or Sue Sylvestrie, the at times comical yet also oddly vulnerable nemesis of the Glee Club. Her love and devotion to her mentally challenged sister is a nice twist. Each character is layered and has slowly over time risen above their cartoonish exterior - demonstrating that exterior may well be a satire on our own assumptions. Murphy enjoys, much as Joss Whedon did before him, throwing a dark funhouse mirror up in the audience face and forcing us to question our own prejudices and assumptions. The homosexual teens, rough and tumble football loving Dad is gasp, sensitive to the boy's plight and actually supportive, and in some respects more understanding than the teen is or Will himself for that matter.

Also the musical numbers are fantastic, twisty, fun, unpredictable, and at times hilarious.
Glee manages to succeed where most shows who attempted to be musicals failed, it uses the music to further it's own story, to examine and explore characters and relationships, and to comment on our own cultural wars and sensibilities at the same time. Brave, daring, at times offensive, and at times moving...Glee is proving to be a bit more than just a spot of fun, and may well turn out to be my favorite show..it's certainly the one I look most forward to each week.

Now if Lost would just end, or The Good Wife, so that I can actually catch the last five minutes of Glee - life would be great!